Not Yet Rated!

"The band was an odd surprise, I really hadn't realized how large it was. There was even a bit of drama when we recruited them. But, in the end it is very popular, far more than I ever thought it would be. Additionally, I wasn't aware that most militias do not have bands, not that I care what others think" she shrugged, "I think with how popular the band is, and how far we are from Selnendrin that we will always have a band."

"Most just have buglers and drummers, signalling and setting a marching pace. I believe that every Legion has a small band of their own, recruited from anyone that has musical ability. Morale in the field."

Anything else that he might say was interrupted by a dwarven officer of engineers. "Begging Your Highness' Parson," he said respectfully. "Centurion Hammershard of the Engineers, my Cohort has been excavating what some call the secret Grotto. We've found a very large cache, it looks like the goods of a royal household. Things like silver service and statues and such things. Well hidden too, considering it wasn't dwarf built."

Not Yet Rated!

She smiled, "I always knew there was more to that place than a giant snake nest. I need to see it" she added, "Indra, please have everyone ready" she looked at Darkwine, "you are welcome to come, if not" she added, "please excuse me. I am certain that we will know more about the second army tomorrow at any rate." Her mind was already on the grotto and what might be in there. "Is it in his condition Centurion Hammershard" she asked excitedly, "is it monogrammed, can you tell how old it is?"

"I had to send an inquiry," he took out a sheet of parchment and showed her a rubbing. "It is the crest of the Royal family of Bartamber, which was in this area when the Realm began to unify, it was wiped off of the map by Gamedian and the Heron Empire, Derak himself blasted some of the villages. It is in pretty good shape, needs cleaning. Everything was sealed in thickly tarred barrels and the cave was very dry."

Not Yet Rated!

"Please send another letting the engineers know that I will be there shortly. I just need to change" she said glancing at her dress." Shew excused herself and went to change. She could have changed quicky, but she knew her guards had been eating.

She returned downstairs in a few moments. "I hope we are ready, because I want to see this cache" she said noticing the guards arriving. "Good" she said and they all arrived outside the grotto. "I understand you have found something, please show me" she added.

They entered, the way down now much easier as the engineers had found and uncovered the stairs that has been buried for so long. The passage was six feet wide and a bit over twenty feet tall when they reached the bottom of the stairs. The centurion pointed up to a scaffold. They set the cache up there," he reported. "We found it when we were clearing out the dirt and clay. Over the years water washed out what we first found, but it widened out quite a bit. They filled in the grotto with dirt and changed all of the runoff channels and this place was under water for a few hundred years, then the water above and below washed out enough soil plugging the hole here to drain the lake. We found the places where they stopped the runoff and opened them up so rain and snow melt won't try and flood it again."

Not Yet Rated!

"Well, they defiantly hid it well" she nodded, "lets see the items from the barrels you opened. Did you open them all" she asked him as they climbed the scaffolding to see the tarred barrels. "I will be taking this all with me" she added, "it will all need cleaned and polished. Hopefully it has remained in good condition" she added.

"We can hope," he nodded. "I was more concerned to check that there were no bespelled items before I brought you, it was checked. We don't want to open any more in closed spaces, in case there's any dust traps built into them, we want a lot of fresh air around us."

Not Yet Rated!

"Understandable" she said, "caring about my safety is appreciated, though I am very pleased you informed me in time to see the location for myself. I do not mind getting a little dirty" she added with a small smile. She approached one of the opened barrels and studied the contents. The lighting was dim, so she lit the entire room with light. "Now, let's see what you have found" she picked up a small silver tray.

It looked as if they'd cached the tableware, an important part of ancient treasuries, made of precious metals to show the wealth and prestige of the crown. It was still done, the Royal Palace had table settings and fixtures older than the Realm. This was tarnished almost black, but its weight told her it was solid silver, and the detail that showed through the tarnish was exquisite.

Not Yet Rated!

"Beautiful" she said turning the piece over to study the back, "I think that I will build a cabinet in the ballroom of the palace and display it. Though" she gave it another closet look, "some pieces might be suitable for use, with a good cleaning and polish. I was worried it was Dureath's silver, but this is perfect" she said more to herself than him. "Have you counted the barrels, how many are here?"

Not Yet Rated!

"It is hard to believe that much more would have survived this long, but I am hoping that I am mistaken. Do wer know where the palace of Bartamber was located? It had been quite difficult to research the exact locations of anything in the area because time and nature have wiped it away."

Not Yet Rated!

She nodded, she had always known this was a special area. It was why she hadn't placed anyone as a noble in the duchy. She just felt the need to protect the area. She had other duchies she had reserved, but those were mostly reserved for other reasons. This one had been saved because she felt something here.

"I hope we do" she nodded, "we have found old roads, and evidence of towns. A palace shouldn't be too difficult to find, provided it was made of stone and had a proper foundation. The underground river," she paused "lake" she said questioning then shrugged, "which they obviously knew about, may have made basements dangerous though. But, I would think they would have had a well in case of sieges, unlimited water would be a real advantage." She looked at all the barrels and moved through them exploring and examining them. After looking them over she used her power to move them, individually, to one of the empty staff quarters on her property. "I will have them opened carefully and examine all the contents. Some items may go to our new museum, some to the palace" she added, "it will depend on the historical significance and the condition. I have a historian who can help us research Bartamber and these items. Thank you for finding this, please let me know if you make any other discoveries. I think you will, I still feel" she paused on the word, "that there is more here" she added slowly.

"We're looking very carefully," he assured her. We plan to open all of this up, we've been working year round here, long enough that I think we need to put in a timber palisade around the site and build log cabins, we've lived in tents for quite a while now, even through the winter."

Not Yet Rated!

"I have some bored engineers who should just about be finished with their current project. I will send them here to build for you so you can continue excavating" she said nodding. "I apologize for your having to live in the tents all winter, I wasn't aware. In the future, please let me know if you need assistance" she added. Tamalyn wrote a note to Flagg about the items in the vacant house, she wanted it guarded and about sending her lifeguard engineers to the grotto.

She sent it off and looked back to the engineer in front of her, "is there anything else you would like to show me? Obviously, it will not be as interesting as ancient silver, but I like history in many forms" she smiled.

"Deeper in isn't stable yet," he replied. "In a month or so we should have another hundred feet fully cleared and the soil sifted," then he grinned. "This looked like a smaller project at first, and we didn't want to upset the natural surroundings, so we avoided building here, but if word gets out that we pulled out ancient silver artifacts, some may look at this place as a ripe target, so I'd like to close it up, even if it is wooden palisades, and we can use the dirt we've mucked out as well to set stronger defenses. As it is I need to hold back half of our engineers to stand three watches while the rest of us work."

Not Yet Rated!

"Security should be easier with the addition of my lifeguard, I will ask Marshal Serpental to move men into the frontier fort to release my men" she nodded. "I agree with keeping the natural aesthetics, but we also need to protect people from the dangers of the area too. The initial hole is very dangerous, and there could be others as well. It is better to be safe, for you and your men as well" she nodded. "I really thought you would discover more natural cave formations that we could open up,I didn't expect to find actual treasure. It changes everything about this site and increases its importance and the need for security. I am really excited to start opening the barrels, but, for now I will not share the knowledge of the silver publicly. Not until everything is secure and can be defended properly" she added. "If there is nothing else to show me, and you have no other issues, I will return to Tamber City and let you get back to exploring" she smiled. "One thing though" she looked around, "do you think it is possible that we are standing in the basement of the palace? They could have built over these natural caves, otherwise why would they have built the stairs" she added considering. "And above, it is a huge meadow that is fairly flat and almost treeless. Could we be at the site of the palace?"

"We found no signs of a foundation in the area," he replied. "Unless they had a timber building there should at least be stonework, but we've tried sinking trenched to find anything, and haven't. Might be why they chose this place to cache their treasure."

Not Yet Rated!

"It was just a thought" she nodded, "very well. I will let you return to work. I am certain that we will discover the secrets of the grotto eventually" she added. She returned to the field above and collected her guards, not all had cone below with her. "Let's go see what goodies they found" she said taking them all to the office of the provincial historian. "I have something that you want to see" she told him. "But, for now I would like to keep it quiet. Please, come with me" she said taking him to the house holding the barrels. She showed him the items in the open barrels.

Not Yet Rated!

"Yes, it will" she nodded, "the engineers doing the excavation cautioned me to ensure that I open them outside in case of traps. I want to display some in the palace, but I also want some in the museum. I was hoping you could help me catalog the pieces" she said, "I can have my staff assist in cleaning them. It will be good training for them" she added. "What can you tell me about the Bartamber kingdom, it's nobles or its palace?"

"Mainly that it was a Kingdom out here over a thousand years ago," he replied with a shrug, I will assemble more information than that, of course, but Bartamber was to the east of us, only a small slice of the eastern border area was part of Bartamber. The rest of the province was part of Belephron, Gasteren, Karasmere and Ralerane."

Not Yet Rated!

"So, do you think they purposely hid it outside their kingdom? In some ways, that makes sense. Who would look for something outside the kingdom. But their location choice, they would have had to be very familiar with the area to know about it."

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